In a typical arrangement of a concentrated solar power plant, a large field of heliostats is arranged around a solar central receiver (solar receiver) placed on a tower of substantial height, where the heliostats focus direct sunlight on to the solar receiver to provide heat to a heat transfer fluid, which is applied to produce steam to run a turbine and extract work in order to produce electricity. The solar receiver generally includes various vertical panels, each having fluid-carrying vertical tubes arranged between horizontally disposed headers for distribution of fluid into the tubes. Tube panel arrangements for configuring the solar receiver are important to effectively utilize solar flux without any spillage or leakage (solar energy not received on the heat transfer surface so as to be absorbed into the heat transfer medium) and proper functioning of the solar receiver.
In one arrangement each panel of the heat transfer surface comprises a flat vertical tube panel between inlet and outlet headers, wherein the headers are positioned in a plane common to the centerline of the tube panel surface. In such an arrangement the adjacent panels of the solar receiver are positioned with spacing therebetween the edge tubes of adjacent panels to accommodate the length of the panel headers. The size of the spacing between panels' edge tubes is such that the thermal expansion of the panels is insufficient to close the spacing between panels' edge tubes, resulting in spillage or leakage of solar flux, possibly causing damage of solar receiver's internal components.
Such problem may be seen to be addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,931,851B1 (US'851), where the constant spacing between the adjacent panels has been addressed by providing a solar receiver with inboard headers with alternative designs of staggered and beveled. However, to one knowledgeable in the art it will be obvious that in the process of creating such inboard header arrangements other issues, such as, manufacturing limitations, fluid drainage restrictions, complications in erection of the receiver, maintainability of the receiver, are added to the design.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved solar receiver, which may be capable of maintaining a constant spacing of the panel arrangements while balancing other constrains and issues as discussed above and provides additional features and advantages.